Oscar and Green Terror in a 55?

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GTkeeper

GTkeeper

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Aug 15, 2010
142
28
61
California
Hey guys, i originally had my little 2" GT and now a friend gave me his oscar he bought and i pretty much love it...i cant get rid of it now if this wont work...but he is also around the 2" mark...how long could i raise them both in the 55? Permanantly? Also, there arent any real agression issues so far.

Thanks :D
 
ehhh, the 55g will be fine for the GT by itself but 55g in general are not good tanks for oscars, oscars get more than 12in long and so would be longer than the tank is wide which is never good, they are also super messy and probably create the waste of like 3 similar sized GTs. you could grow them out in that tank till they are both about 6-7in but then i think they would need to be moved into a larger tank (i think a 100g AT LEAST, but larger of course is better) (also male GTs could get up to 12in eventually, though it would take a long time, so he would benefit from a larger tank as well but would do well a lot longer in the 55g than the O would) the main thing is to keep a close eye out on water parameters, when they are getting to large for your nitrates to stay under 20 between your weekly water changes then its time for them to be moved, or when aggression issues arise, neither of these fish are usually aggressive until they are larger so its not surprising they are fine right now, they are still babies, but as all of us know on this site, cichlid behavior changes dramatically as they mature, and i would be worried more about the GT being the aggressor, or the oscar outgrowing him since they grow much faster and just straight up eating the GT if he outpaces him enough, so just keep a close eye out
 
Sarah88;4428764; said:
ehhh, the 55g will be fine for the GT by itself but 55g in general are not good tanks for oscars, oscars get more than 12in long and so would be longer than the tank is wide which is never good, they are also super messy and probably create the waste of like 3 similar sized GTs. you could grow them out in that tank till they are both about 6-7in but then i think they would need to be moved into a larger tank (i think a 100g AT LEAST, but larger of course is better) (also male GTs could get up to 12in eventually, though it would take a long time, so he would benefit from a larger tank as well but would do well a lot longer in the 55g than the O would) the main thing is to keep a close eye out on water parameters, when they are getting to large for your nitrates to stay under 20 between your weekly water changes then its time for them to be moved, or when aggression issues arise, neither of these fish are usually aggressive until they are larger so its not surprising they are fine right now, they are still babies, but as all of us know on this site, cichlid behavior changes dramatically as they mature, and i would be worried more about the GT being the aggressor, or the oscar outgrowing him since they grow much faster and just straight up eating the GT if he outpaces him enough, so just keep a close eye out
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yeah, thats what im worried about..im not sure what i should do :confused:
 
if you know you wont be able to get a larger tank within the next 6 months, then i would re-home the oscar, you could also get a 55g rubbermaid tub and put the oscar in there when it gets too big for the tank until you can get a larger tank for it. im pretty sure those containers are more than 12in wide and they are a cheap temporary fix until a larger tank can be set-up, you would just have to do lots of waterchanges to keep water params under control if getting rid of the fish isnt an option
 
First off get yourself a bigger tank. Also, as it was recommended to me to curb wild Oscar agression, get a lot of rocks and drift wood in there so they lose themselves. So far its working quite well for me. Of course I left them a lot of room to swim around too.
 
Sarah88;4428796; said:
if you know you wont be able to get a larger tank within the next 6 months, then i would re-home the oscar, you could also get a 55g rubbermaid tub and put the oscar in there when it gets too big for the tank until you can get a larger tank for it. im pretty sure those containers are more than 12in wide and they are a cheap temporary fix until a larger tank can be set-up, you would just have to do lots of waterchanges to keep water params under control if getting rid of the fish isnt an option
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When the time comes..how would i go about setting that up?
 
You set it up just like a tank (filter, air, heat) and maintain it like a tank (frequent water changes, test water). Some people put a screen or glass lid on top, others rig up something with lights too....keeping in mind this is supposed to be only temporary (you can't enjoy a fish in a container when you can only see him from above IMO), you're oscar shouldn't live it's life in a tub that size.
 
Cookie*420;4428824; said:
You set it up just like a tank (filter, air, heat) and maintain it like a tank (frequent water changes, test water). Some people put a screen or glass lid on top, others rig up something with lights too....keeping in mind this is supposed to be only temporary (you can't enjoy a fish in a container when you can only see him from above IMO), you're oscar shouldn't live it's life in a tub that size.
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alrgiht, and i found a potential 100gal tank to buy...i just wont have the money or space to set it up for at least a year..:(
 
yeah that would only be temporary, you could get a larger tub and it could work for a little longer and yeah you set it up just like you would a tank it would just be like a mini-pond where you can only see them from above so not as enjoyable like stated, and i would keep an eye on craigslist, if you keep looking im sure you will find a great deal on a 100g or 125g before then. sometimes you can really find a steal if there is somebody who is wanting to clear out space or moving or something, there loss is your gain :)
 
Sarah88;4429046; said:
yeah that would only be temporary, you could get a larger tub and it could work for a little longer and yeah you set it up just like you would a tank it would just be like a mini-pond where you can only see them from above so not as enjoyable like stated, and i would keep an eye on craigslist, if you keep looking im sure you will find a great deal on a 100g or 125g before then. sometimes you can really find a steal if there is somebody who is wanting to clear out space or moving or something, there loss is your gain :)
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yep. agreed, thanks a bunch (:
 
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